Sony announces Vaio E and W Series

The E Series is the first Vaio with a numeric keypad

Sony has extended its Vaio range of laptops with a new 15.5in E series and the W series eco-friendly netbook designed to be kinder to the environment.

Announced at an event in London, the two new Vaio lines join the S, Y and F Series unveiled at CES, plus the Z series ultraportable introduced in January. Both the E series and W series will be available by the end of February.

The E series is designed for multimedia performance with Intel's Core i3 processors and up to 4GB of DDR3 memory, or 6GB if ordered from Sony's online store. It sports a numeric keypad for the first time in a Vaio laptop, plus a 15.5in 16:9 ratio screen with a resolution of 1,366 x 768 pixels.

As well as HDMI video output, it also features an external Sata port for high-speed external storage. Pricing for the new line has yet to be disclosed.

Also announced is the W Series netbook, dubbed by Robbie Duncan, Sony's Vaio marketing manager, as the "eco series".

This has a mercury-free display and is Energy Star 5.0 certified, and 80 per cent of the plastic in its construction is from recycled materials, Duncan said.

The W Series has a 10.1in display and Intel Atom processor, and ships with Windows 7 Starter edition. It is available only from Sony direct, priced at £379 including VAT.

New across all Sony's latest Vaios (expect for the W series) is the Vaio Assist button, designed to help users experiencing problems with their computer.

This walks the user through four stages, according to Duncan, from a quick diagnostic check that looks at common problems, to a troubleshooting mode that suggests fixes.

If these two steps fail, the user can proceed to a system restore to return it to factory settings, while the final step connects them with Sony for technical assistance via the phone or web.